A Fair Wind
by Leiamoody of Ysonesse
Summary: Luke meets up with an old acquaintance. Takes place from pre-TESB to post-ROTJ.
1. Farewell

_(High Command Base, Ilysium; 2 ABY)_

"Well, I guess this is it."

Luke had just slipped on his right boot when Cala's declaration caught him off guard. She usually ran every word through a mental filter before releasing them into the open. But this came out of nowhere-

"I'm leaving in the morning." She smiled, a gesture he saw on certain rare occasions during the past two years. Not many, certainly not enough to counterbalance the sadness which hung around her like a tapestry. Through nights and days, in bed and other places, he only discovered the basics about her past. Their relationship didn't allow for grand revelations, so it wasn't strange to know very little about each other. Yes, Luke had to admit it was peculiar so much time needed to elapse before she spoke aloud where she was born. It was only a few weeks ago she finally told him about the death of her parents.

Cala tugged on the fastener of her camouflage flight jacket. "Remember that planet I found?"

Luke could predict where the conversation was headed. "Yeah, the one you called Aurora."

"That's right." One upward pull finally ended her jacket crisis. "It's like one of those places used for stock holos in travel brochures."

"Sounds nice." She seemed destined to be a scout. Life among the stars, roaming the hyperlanes out to the farthest reaches away from civilization, suited her temperament.

"I'm gonna set up house. Drop out for awhile, live off the land like a true pioneer."

"Really?"

"Is that so amazing?"

Luke stared at her. Some kind of transformation had occurred which completely escaped his attention. If their bond had been rooted in something deeper than a mere physical attraction, maybe the conversion would have been obvious. And yet...Cala would always be a mystery, in all the ways and places that were necessary for a deeper bond. Always keeping her distance from others, that's how she preferred to fly through life. Even with him, after all this time ever since their first meeting on Thila. She had walked up to his X-Wing, out of the hyperblue, motivated by nothing more than curiosity. A blonde distraction standing there in black spike-heeled boots encrusted with faux Corusca chips diverted his attention long enough to start a conversation. Like other introductions to strangers in his recent past, that opening changed the direction of his life.

Cala shrugged. "Maybe it does seem funny."

"You've always seemed happier away from gravity."

"Guess there's a little girl still trying to find a home. Sometimes you get tired of being a vessel for heartache."

Luke nodded. Now her motivation was obvious; to seek whatever refuge could be found away from the maelstrom which engulfed too much of the galaxy. She left one home because it never felt right. He still couldn't figure out the precise nature of the childhood Cala presented to him only in fragments but he understood how the loss of both parents before memories were formed harmed the psyche. Her loss came with the Ghorman Massacre; her father and mother both died in the protests during that long ago tragedy.

"Do you think I might be possessed?"

He laughed. "No. Why?"

She wrinkled her nose. "Because it doesn't make any sense. What's pushing me to give up my job and set up house on some floating ball in the Sweetheart Nebula's armpit?"

"You want a place to settle and live in peace. We've all got that dream."

"Yeah, the big cause that's kept us going since Yavin." Cala shook her head. "It just feels weird."

"It's normal." Luke felt a fluttery envious twist in his stomach. Weren't they always running towards home, no matter where or if that notion was real? Didn't he want some patch of earth and a permanent abode to hang his lightsaber? Force preserve him, yes, he wanted that again.

"Hey, you wanna join me?"

"What? Where?" Surely Cala wasn't asking him to give up everything and run off to Aurora.

"I want to grab some drinks before I head out. Did you want to come along and get twisted with me at The Flight Bar?"

Luke released a tense breath. What made him jump to the wrong conclusion? Of course that was all she wanted. Why did he think otherwise? They never had a relationship so deep it would happen-nothing that strong, not between them. Gods, she was attractive, and their "horizontal association" had been wonderful. These past two years weren't always about sex, though it certainly was a major component. Yet other things drew them into a peculiar mutual orbit. They were comrades engaged in a group struggle against oppression individual orphans with shared histories of loss pilots lured to risky endeavors simply for the thrill. Yes, they were friends with something extra but nothing more. That was fine. Commitment never appealed to her, and there was no room for a bond with another person that might become permanent. His ties to the Rebellion dominated most of his waking moments. Of course, his Jedi studies took up a great deal of concentration as well.

"Come on, boyo. I'll credit the first round."

Luke paused long enough to smile before standing up to join her. "Thanks."

No, he could never run away. His pledge to the Rebellion had been made in good faith. The Force interwove his destiny with that of the galaxy. He did not question the nature of these matters.

So why did he suddenly feel disappointed?


	2. Return

(_Onboard __**Cerulean**__, in orbit around Aurora; 4.3 ABY)_

"A fair wind carries the fortunate into blessed skies, but pulls the unfortunate down to accursed dust." The ancient proverb floated through Luke's thoughts as he walked along the near empty corridor. Unfortunately, this day proved the latter half of the saying to be true in the most simple and painful way that could be imagined. The Mon Calamari evacuation cruiser _Cerulean_ had been dispatched to one particular corner of the Outer Rim for a rescue mission. Moff Lorin had invaded Aurora, one of the safe worlds meant to provide a haven from the storms of war, during his escape from the Fakir Sector. Everyone on the planet below became a hostage. Some were hand picked to serve as examples for those who dared to usurp control away from the Empire.

Ten thousand beings were left alive after the six-week occupation ended. Five hundred souls were now only memories.

Luke had requested to come along on this mission-for a reason that some might call selfish.

_One of their first nights together, soon after Command Central set up residence on Ilysium...she dropped out of the stars for a flying visit to the new base, and to his cramped quarters. _

_"Surprise, Jedi boy!" In her right hand was a bottle of Whyren's Reserve, and the knuckle to forehead salute she gave him with her left hand reduced them both to laughter. The mood soon slipped into "tumble and grunt mode"..._

_Later, Cala got silly. Doing a naked bounce around the room to a hyper dance song off the Top 500, she tried keeping up with the lyrics, but lost track of the tune when she couldn't stop giggling._

There, outside the wide curved viewport, Aurora seemed like a paradise: round, dotted with blue water and green grasslands. The reflected light from the lone sun slowly drifting from behind a tiny pearl moon reached across to create shimmering waves across the planet's surface. No matter how remote this world was from the galactic center, it seemed almost perfect. Cala was the one who gave this uncharted globe its name: Aurora, Herald of The First Light, the promise of a new day in the universe, one of humanity's oldest symbols of hope.

But hope could not protect them from the grasp of evil.

Four months after the Battle of Endor, and the war still held most of the galaxy between two opposing factions. The Emperor was dead, but his evil touch wasn't eradicated. Devout followers had suffered enough losses to cripple their offensive rearguard, yet still they fought back against every Alliance attack.

He reached out and traced his fingers across the transparisteel. Was there room in the universe for anything that wasn't destructive? Could peace, joy...and love still exist?

Was Cala among the living? Only a partial list of survivors had been compiled since the first commo was sent, and her name wasn't to be found anywhere. But in the hidden ether, the energy signatures of all creatures vibrated. He could pierce that wall with the Force, and perhaps he would find her.

Luke closed his eyes. Memory gave him a crystalline focus...back to those days and nights when they were together. It once felt like they were merely two lonely pilots seeking mutual comfort in the midst of emptiness. But now, those times were luminescent in retrospect.

"First arrival in ten minutes." The announcement pierced to the center of Luke's awareness. Yes, Cala was alive, and she was on the shuttle soon to land in the hangar bay.

He shivered. Death had claimed too many of those dear to him. Yet life had intervened and spared one entity from crossing over into the Netherworld, that place so far away not even a Jedi could easily travel to its shores. Every life that was saved enervated the Light.

His pulse quickened. Not just another gain for the abstract definition of the universe on the left side of all existence. To think that way only created a lie within him. Of course it was a deeper, more personal feeling.

He turned away from the viewport and began a journey back along the corridor. Only ten minutes until the shuttle's arrival, and there were four decks between the observation deck and the ships' roost. Luke knew it was going to be impossible to arrive before the shuttle docked, especially now that others were headed in the same direction.

He rounded the corner, and saw a group clustered near a dual set of lifts. The next elevator might come along soon, or it might take longer than anxiety would permit him to endure. There was another route to the hangar bay, one that started and terminated with the emergency stairs. The access way was straight ahead, on the right, at the corridor's northern apex.

Luke reached the door that led to the fourth level steps. One slap of his palm against the access panel forced the hatch to slide open...but he could only wait long enough for it to open halfway before he dashed through the gap. Quick boot steps carried him down, down, down...

His trek concluded mere seconds after the shuttle was secured in its momentary home. The evac vehicle sat at the center of a yellow rectangle stretched across the polished gray floor. It was a typical Mon Calamari design, and gleamed under the illumipanels. Those who died were in the cargo hold, hidden away until the first group of survivors disembarked.

The small group he'd seen at the lifts was near the fuel lines, intermingled with other crew members. Everyone was drawn to the white and silver shuttle like a beacon. Once the boarding ramp was lowered, unspoken prayers to various deities would either be fulfilled, or destroyed.

Luke found no comfort from a hidden god figure. The Force was the only eternal power he placed every iota of faith pulled together over the years; through tragedy and triumph, the mysterious energy which permeated all things was enough to give balance to his soul. Gods or goddesses never fit comfortably with the Force. The lack of belief in a Supreme Being always dominated his concept of the universe; from his childhood, when Uncle Owen spouted

contemptuous words on the subject, to the present day, he never believed a higher intelligence that created all things, and controlled them.

But now, suddenly, something ancient called out from his unconscious; not a shattering cry to the heavens, only a simple wish cast out from silence into the ether, that veiled barrier which bound space and time in their eternal union since The First Hour.

The sound of escaping air and mechanical whirs floated through the vast area. All murmurs and whispers ceased, all heads turned in the evac shuttle's direction.

The ramp descended to the floor.

Time seemed to fall away, like the epicenter on the galactic horizon just before a ship entered hyperspace. They were all caught in the pause of one moment stretched out to eternity. Luke's mind was flooded with a surge of anticipation from those clustered in small groups around the hangar bay. It was overwhelming.

He stepped away, into the shadows, just to regain his concentration.

"Here they come!"

A young woman appeared in the entrance. She was human, with long blonde hair, clad in a green-and-black camouflage jacket. There she was, as if two years had never passed.

Cala turned to look in his direction. She stared at him, brown eyes meeting blue, just like that first meeting on Thila.

Luke stepped forward. His progress was halted three times by other individuals with the same idea, to meet their loved ones at the bottom of the ramp. His final obstacle came in the form of two Wookiee mechanics; their combined heights formed a temporary barrier both to his body and eyes. A few seconds passed before the path was clear once more. Cala was at the halfway point on the ramp...and in her arms was a bundle of white...a blanket wrapped around something or someone.

Their eyes met again. Then she glanced down at the bundle. Love emanated from her spirit. What she carried was the source of that emotional surge, that strong leap of joy. Her life had changed on Aurora.

Cala had a baby.

A gap in the crowd finally emerged, and Luke crossed forward until his journey came to an end at the bottom of the ramp. She was standing there, waiting for him.

Before he could ask one question, she addressed the obvious matter. "This is my daughter. And it's a long story."


	3. Peace

_(Onboard __**Cerulean**__, Central Lounge; 4.3 ABY)_

"Sen was holding a syringe when I limped through the infirmary's front door. You know, the standard medtech routine."

Luke watched as she brushed aside a sweep of light golden bangs from her forehead. He still found the gesture endearing. Cala always tried to hide any signs of vulnerability around others, yet the tough girl facade would sometimes fall away. It was nice to see one element in a chaotic universe which remained untouched.

He glanced out the long panel of transparisteel which served as a window to the immediate universe. They had retreated to the central lounge so they could catch up on personal affairs, only after they had taken her daughter to a temporary nursery. The sight of an infant being laid down in a makeshift bed fashioned out of a packing crate was unusual, even in the midst of a refugee crisis. Seeing the young woman who once swore on multiple falling stars that she would never reproduce placing a five-month old baby into that crate was astounding.

"When I bummed up my ankle, then I met someone who didn't know how I was gonna relate to within five seconds."

"Like me, huh?"

"I knew right away how to deal with you. Blue-eyed flyboys are easy to figure out."

He chuckled. "What brought us together?"

"We all heard about the wonder kid who blew up the Death Star. When I saw you near the X-Wing, it seemed like the perfect time to head over and see if you were real."

"I wasn't an illusion."

"Obviously." Cala looked at her feet. "Although I must've seemed like a nightmare coming along with these boots."

"They were a nice calling comm when you came over to say hello. You were standing on the ladder, but all I could see were those boots."

"It was a decent view?"

"After I popped my head out from the hyperdrive compartment, sure. Then I got to see the rest of you."

"Hey, it was these boots that got me into the infirmary. Figures that spiky heels and muddy terrain don't work in harmony." Cala scratched absently at one of the scars still in the healing stage which ran zigzag along her elbow. Wounds on skin, wounds in the psyche, all were signs of damage inflicted that might fade away, or would remain as undesired reminders.

"So that's how you met Sen."

"Yep. He was doing an infirmary rotation because the real doctors hadn't gotten to Aurora yet. Any being with more than three hours' training in anatomy were put on duty to help out the Too-Onebee with the basics." She tapped on the transparisteel window. "He'd been awake for twelve hours, and just quaffed down his sixth mug of caf when Stupid Me comes hobbling in. Not-Quite-Doctor Diour was grouchy, and I wasn't swimming through jubilation either. After he stuck me in the arm, I bit his head off—"

"And a love affair was born," Luke concluded. The fleeting vision of a rough-hewn square room stuffed with shelves and boxes appeared in his mind. Only two people were in this space: Cala, seated on a standard hovercot, and a man, standing off to the left, leaning against a chair. Empathy had provided him with a glimpse into Cala's first meeting with Sen Diour.

"Despite the rough start, he decided to come by and check on his patient. He was definitely a good healer."

"You were together pretty much from day one?"

"By the end of the first month, we got one collapsible double bed and wound up sharing a 'fresher the size of a broom closet."

"Yet you never got married."

"Sen asked me a few times. But I couldn't do it." She twisted a small coil of hair tightly around her index finger. "That was a mistake."

"Do you think saying yes would have prevented his death?"

She trembled. He felt the ripples of sadness and grief fall into the center of his soul. It could seem ridiculous to believe that one decision might be responsible for someone's death. But he understood the feeling; it took him weeks to completely do away with the idea that it was his fault Han was put into carbonite. Every so often, his conscience still flickered with recriminations about leaving Owen and Beru to be murdered by the stormtroopers. Random flashes of guilt, often in the quiet of night, would come and go like ghosts.

"No. Of course I couldn't know he was going to...I'm not in touch with the Force like you." There was only a slight indication of bitterness in her voice.

"It can't tell me everything. Not all those facts I really need to know, and when I really need to know them."

"Like the future."

"Especially the future. I've had visions of events before they happened. Knowing ahead of time doesn't mean you're ever prepared when that thing comes along...if it actually takes place."

"Pessimistic, aren't you?"

"It's true." Luke felt a twinge of despair after he let this comment out into the aether. Could he truly believe there was nothing to be done which could make anyone create their own reality? Did the Force have such power over all matter in the universe that it could act as some divine counterweight against a being's desires?

"That's not the only truth in the universe. Let me tell you another one." She leaned forward, hands clasped tightly in her lap. "Imagine that you never knew anything about your father. You've got some physical characteristics in common, maybe some personal traits as well. If you're really lucky, then you get to share a last name too." Cala's voice was soft: not quite a whisper, more like a prayer. "Neha's got his eye color...basic gray...kind of blue in sunlight." She swallowed back tears. "That's all she can ever know about him. My daughter has Sen's eye color and the surname." Her right hand tightened into a fist. "I've only got one datastick left, with all the holos we took before the invasion. Images are nice, but those aren't enough to make him real when Neha gets older."

Luke wanted to help Cala. But there was nothing in the universe to ease her pain. Hope could turn into poison; any orphan, even if they had some shred of good fortune to still have one parent, knew the pain of loss, of someone who could never be in the child's life. Words could start under the best intentions, yet fall short of comfort.

But he had to say something, anything, that might give her a little bit of comfort.

"Tell her everything about Sen." Luke reached out and stroked his fingers across the back of her hand. "Let her know about your first meeting. Tell her all those details to make her father more than a memory."

"Is that really enough? I had datapads full of my parents' manifestos, and they still felt like myths." A weary sigh escaped from her lips. "Only things I ever heard were bad; my grandfather spent more time blathering on about Dad's affairs, and Mom's spice addiction. They were both miserable."

He reached and grasped both her hands. "You and Sen had a good relationship. There won't be anything bad she'll ever need to know."

Cala nodded. "Just make it up as I go. Maybe when I get back to Ghorman, I can figure out a better solution."

There it was, the ending he knew was inevitable before he asked to come along on the retrieval mission. They had divided fates, same as always. She would go home and start another life. His immediate future was...different...and lonely.

Separate destinies were meant to carry them apart; any vague hope of trying to recapture fragments of their cozy union, back when love seemed possible, was gone. He was a Jedi, destined to become the leader of a new Jedi Order. There was no space or time for distractions, particularly matters of the heart.

Luke tried to put the matter aside, now that he acknowledged an unfortunate truth. But part of his mind would not let go...there was still a desire to have a life with another person. Sooner or later, it would be the perfect time to meet someone and fall in love. What about his feelings for Cala...?

She stood up, long enough to sit down next to him in the little space on the window seat. "I still adore you."

He smiled. Yes, that was the answer. Adoration was a different kind of love; strong and vibrant, joyful, but not possessive. They would always adore each other, no matter the distance or years.

Cala snuggled against him, placing her chin on his shoulder. "Funny, everything out there always seems peaceful. Wars are fought, governments come and go, but none of that makes any difference to them."

Luke placed his arm around her shoulders. "It's like they're keeping vigil, maybe recording events for posterity."

Just like the old days...whenever they were on a planet with a grand vista, they would sit like this, curled up together. Stolen moments with nothing to do except gaze out upon night skies teeming with stars, or day skies alight with radiant suns.

He turned his gaze back out the viewport. There was nothing left to say, for now. The blue and green orb called Aurora rotated almost imperceptibly, alone in the midst of silence.

_The past is past, and the future... _


End file.
